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Thursday, April 21, 2016

Spring Already?

It was a lovely morning!

When I stepped out the front door of my
house for the first time in about three weeks, I couldn’t believe it. Without
turning my head too far, I could see two dogwood trees in full bloom, one white
and one pink, a large ornamental pear tree covered with white blossoms, a portly
forsythia bush loaded with golden blooms, two purple tulips – all I have left
from years of neglect, and a large rhododendron bush – heavy with buds. The
sunny day was warm and breezy, the sky blue.

“It’s spring!” I told Mr. H.

“It sure is,” he said. “Has been for a
while. You almost missed it.”

We drove to my doctor’s office, about a
mile away, so I could “give blood” and were back in less than an hour.

Out of the car I bounced, feeling good...
enjoying the day... and headed into the house. Inside, as I put my purse down on
the floor, I saw something move. Looking closer, I saw a stinkbug that had
apparently hitched a ride on my purse. Mr. H. grabbed the intruder and threw
him back outside and I said, “Now you see why I like cold weather better.”

Those of you who know me, even slightly,
know that I prefer winter over summer. The stinkbug reminded me of some of the reasons: bugs, lizards, snakes, flies, gnats; hot, sticky weather; thunderstorms that uproot trees and
cause damage to property; allergies and sunburn and freckles,
leathery skin and much more!

Give me the freshness of fall and winter any
day.

I don’t care who disagrees with me or yells
at me when I say I love snow. I don’t care how many Christmas cards I get from
friends who live in Florida with pictures of palm trees blowing in the breeze
or how many jokes they post on Facebook about how they prefer looking at pictures
of our 18” snowfall while sitting by their swimming pool sipping piña coladas. I’d rather curl up in front of a roaring fire, sip hot
chocolate and watch a good movie.

Unfortunately
for me, hot weather started unusually early this year. It’s already been in the
80’s several times. I’m not ready, but guess I have no choice but to take it as
it comes. However, I’ll be spending most of my time inside an air conditioned
house until, oh... about mid-August when the hint of fall starts to permeate
the air and one can go outside without feeling breathless or sticky.